How I Got Here: Camilla Franks

14 years after launching her first collection, the ‘kaftan queen’ reflects on the long road to the top.

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WE ALL HAVE LOFTY AMBITIONS AS CHILDREN – WHAT WERE YOURS?

I wanted to be an actress or a dancer. I’ve always been ambitious, but not academically ambitious. I was in the drama room, the art room, or I would be in the headmistress’s office; it was not at school where I shone, but I liked to challenge the status quo.

HAVE YOU ALWAYS HAD THE SPIRIT NEEDED FOR THE FASHION INDUSTRY?

I was extremely brave when I first embarked on it and I had a sense of stamina I don’t have anymore. I threw myself into a world I knew nothing about. When I first opened my Bondi store there was one phone line, so I was the designer, the sales assistant, the marketing manager, the accountant, and I would put on different voices to transfer calls. It was total smoke and mirrors!